VDOT to fix road where girl, 16, died
Shelby Nicholson
A portion of Old Bridge Road in Lake Ridge is set to be rebuilt this year to better accommodate cars in a dangerous sloping S curve.
But those improvements didn’t come soon enough for 16-year-old Shelby Nicholson, who was killed in a car accident Wednesday night in that portion of the roadway.
The Lake Ridge teenager was riding with a friend in a 2005 Chevy Aveo traveling west on Old Bridge Road.
Both Woodbridge Senior High School students were coming back from a trip to the mall.
Just after 4:30 p.m., the 16-year-old driver lost control of the car while traveling between Colby and Oakwood drives.
She crossed the median and collided with a 2005 Lincoln Navigator SUV.
Nicholson was killed instantly, while the driver was taken to the hospital where she remains in critical condition.
The driver and the passenger in the SUV were taken to the hospital with injuries that didn’t appear to be life-threatening, said police.
Between May 1, 2007, and April 30, 2008, there were 12 crashes on the stretch of Old Bridge Road where Nicholson was killed, said Mike Salmon, Virginia Department of Transportation spokesman.
Since the mid-90s that stretch of Old Bridge Road has been high atop a list of accident hot spots.
It’s an S curve that slopes down a steep hill and bottoms out over a stream bed.
Signs warning motorists of the dangerous curves were posted in 1997, and an extensive guardrail system was erected.
In 2000 “slippery when wet” signs were posted to give drivers extra warning when driving in wet conditions, similar to those during the accident.
The speed limit in that stretch of road, since 1992, has been 45 mph, Salmon said.
It wasn’t until 2003 officials saw the need to improve the road in an effort to fix at least the first portion of the S curve.
The state applied for $500,000 in federal highway improvement money to construct a higher embankment on the westbound portion of the curve — from Colby Drive to the stream bed — in an effort to prevent cars from sliding off the road.
The money was approved a year later, but the project has been in the design phase ever since.
Now VDOT is ready to begin construction on the project, possibly getting under way this spring, Salmon said. Officials are also looking at doing the same on the eastbound side of the road.
But that news wasn’t enough to console a family that was missing its only daughter.
“We know it’s true but it’s still not real to us yet,” said Pat Daubenspeck, Nicholson’s grandmother.
She said her granddaughter loved working for the school yearbook and was hoping to be named editor next year.
She used to row for her high school crew team, and loved to root for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Capitals.
After graduating from high school, Daubenspeck said, her granddaughter planned to go to East Carolina University. She wanted to be a fashion designer.
“It’s really hard to imagine my life without her … we had so many plans … our kids were going to be best friends like we were,” said 16-year-old Shawna Thorpe, fighting back tears.
Thorpe was at Nicholson’s house Thursday night going through photos of her late friend.
Daubenspeck said her granddaughter met the driver of the car at school, where they became friends.
The driver has come out of a coma but remains in critical condition, Daubenspeck said.
Also a Woodbridge High student, the 16-year-old driver is an active cheerleader and sings in the choir, said a school administrator.
Many teachers at the high school were distraught after hearing of the accident.
“As teachers they get very attached to the students because they see them every day,” said David Huckestein, principal at Woodbridge High School.
Huckestein brought in grief counselors to the school Thursday and personally called teachers right after he heard about the accident.
He said Nicholson was an office aide and will be sorely missed.
Friends and family have been invited to the Mountcastle Funeral Home in Dale City for a celebration of her life Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m., and again from 7 to 9 p.m. The funeral service will be the following day at 3:30 p.m. in the funeral home.
The family plans to create a scholarship fund in her honor that would benefit a student studying photography or journalism, two of Nicholson’s interests, Daubenspeck said.
She is survived by her parents, Stacy Nicholson and Bobby Nicholson.
Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.
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Reader Reactions
We moved to Lake Ridge last spring and within our first week, we saw 2 accidents on that stretch of road. (And have seen too many since!) So, right off the bat, we knew that it was dangerous and always slow down for it.
It’s horrible that this girl had to die for this road to be fixed.
My heart goes out to all the victims in this tragedy. I want to know why, if the money was approved in 2004, the planning has taken 4-5 years???!!! What is VDOT doing??? How many more people have to loose their lives before it actually gets fixed?? Yeah, they say “Some time this Spring….“ do you honestly think that will happen? I bet you it doesn’t and someone else will unfortunately die….WAKE UP VDOT!!!
It is tragic that this young lady lost her life. May the Lord give peace and comfort to this family. I think the curves in the road were designed to keep traffic at a slow pace. If you look at the curves they actually go from 123 to after WHS. I recently moved on Oakwood and that was the first thing I noticed. I think it was a design to keep the traffic slow but that has always been a dangerous curve, wet or dry.
Shelby, you will be missed greatly. You will be in my thoughts as well as the family.The driver, not going to mention name, you are an amzing cheerleader, and we really need you to get better soon. It is horrible that this had to happen for VDOT to fix the road. Ill be praying for the girls and the families.
hey it is very mest up that you had to pass away but i guss bad things happin to the great people in the world but shelby rest in peace we will all miss u alot and it is very mest up that that had to happin expecaly to you all but love you shelby see you one day again
My heart felt sympathy to all involved w/ this tragedy.
I’m glad to hear that a fix has been approved fot this section of roadway. It was actualy built this way in the 1970’s and sadly it took another life before the approved fix.
my prayers go out to the families. it’s a shame that some of our roads are so dangerous. i have an issue in my community that VDOT will not fix properly. they put a band-aid on it about 5 or 6 years ago. i guess it’s going to take an unfortunate disaster like this to get their attention here too.
My prayers go out to shelby and natalie’s families. I am sitting here with tears in my eyes. I feel so bad. To lose your child is the worse thing that can happen in life. I have a 15 year old son and really don’t want him to drive after this. I think they should raise the age to 18 also.
Don’t know what else to say, nothing will make the families feel better, but know that people do care, we feel your pain, stay strong. god bless you all.
That specific stretch of Old Bridge Road is extremely treacherous and I personally feel that by throwing money at it ( in this case $500,000) will not fix the problem. It is like putting a band-aid over a broken leg. It wont solve the problem. The road was poorly designed from the start. Drivers need to be more aware of the dangers of that portion of the road and they need to slow down. My prayers go out to Shelby and her family.
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